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Original poster

DC was bitten by strange dog, owner has now contacted me

482 replies

Villanelle · 14/04/2021 14:03

Yesterday my DC was bitten by a dog at the park. He was playing in the play area, went down the slide and then started running after his younger sibling, the dog came out of nowhere and started chasing him. It caught up to him and bit him on the leg and back. He was hurt (puncture wounds, bleeding and bruised) but not enough to need stitches, thankfully. It was terrifying though and could have been so much worse. It was a big dog, like a Weimaraner, and totally out of control in a children's play area, the children(!!) walking it had to drag it away.

We contacted the police but they're going to contact us again in a couple of days.
It was posted about on FB by someone who witnessed it. I didn't reply to it but somehow the owner of the dog has contacted me. They haven't apologised or anything, just given me their phone number and told me to phone them.

I want to shout at them for being so irresponsible, I'm so angry. I don't know if I should reply to them or just leave it up to the police/dog warden. I don't want to argue with them, of course, but I don't think they realise how awful the situation was?

OP posts:
Wiggleinherwalk · 16/04/2021 10:39

Also really gross when people just let their dogs piss all over everything - have been on the beach before and someone (with their dog on a lead!) just let it wee up someone's windbreaker - that they're going to have to touch at the end of the day/put in their car/store in their home. Or when you're sitting on a park bench and a dog will just run up, cock its leg right next to you, then run off again - so disgusting!

Am really dog friendly but this attack sounds horrific and in no way from any POV the fault of the OP or her DC. Currently pregnant and live near a lovely park and just reading all these horror stories has made me feel really anxious as I can very easily imagine it happening... Time to start carrying walking sticks/a big umbrella?

TinyTear · 16/04/2021 10:43

@AyyX

Why don’t they make dog areas for dogs to play in? It seems like these dogs get too excited over strangers sometimes and even if they mean to harm, someone might be petrified of them.
Plenty of parks have dog areas and 'dog playgrounds' with tunnels and other fun things
Memedru · 16/04/2021 11:25

My old man took our lovely boxer out for a walk a few years ago, and she was attacked by another dog off the lead, my dad proceeded to kick the dog in the head, it soon let go, the lady who was walking the dog was quite shocked!

Later that day, a bloke knocked at our door, ranting and raving, swearing and being threatening towards my mum, my dad was out for a run and just happend to get home around the same time, the bloke was told by my 6ft 6 tall, covered in tattoos, who happend to be in the army at the time dad, that if he didnt apologies and fuck off, he would get the same treatment as his dog, he soon fuxked off

Cyntia123 · 16/04/2021 11:44

@AyyX

Why don’t they make dog areas for dogs to play in? It seems like these dogs get too excited over strangers sometimes and even if they mean to harm, someone might be petrified of them.
Thats what we need. I take my puppy to the country park and would love to let her run free but there's family's with toddlers and older people walking there so I can't chance it. A nice big enclosed field would really help to give all dogs the chance to run free without worrying about knocking any one over or upsetting people who don't like dogs. Closest one to me is about half hour drive, think I might call my council and ask about this for our local parks. Btw before anyone says it again, I am training my dog not to jump up and i take her to training classes every week but she's young and excitable and can't control herself yet.
EuroTrashed · 16/04/2021 11:51

When a pair of out of control dogs came into my garden and killed my cat (while their owner stood motionless, silent and watching) the police were surprisingly brilliant. As a cat is not legally “property” there was a limited range of options available but even so the dog owner got a visit and an orde to keep them on a lead in public. With injuries to a child there are far more tools available to them and they should be used where dog owners behave irresponsibly.
I hope your son is ok.

MayorGoodwaysChicken · 16/04/2021 11:52

@Memedru

My old man took our lovely boxer out for a walk a few years ago, and she was attacked by another dog off the lead, my dad proceeded to kick the dog in the head, it soon let go, the lady who was walking the dog was quite shocked!

Later that day, a bloke knocked at our door, ranting and raving, swearing and being threatening towards my mum, my dad was out for a run and just happend to get home around the same time, the bloke was told by my 6ft 6 tall, covered in tattoos, who happend to be in the army at the time dad, that if he didnt apologies and fuck off, he would get the same treatment as his dog, he soon fuxked off

What a beautiful story.
SchadenfreudePersonified · 16/04/2021 13:12

[quote Wackadoo]@SchadenfreudePersonified that is horrific. Your poor dog. What kind of sick human does that?[/quote]
It was horrific!

I know that kids like this are the minority, but I do wonder what sort of nasty adults they grew up to be.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 16/04/2021 13:17

@Memedru

My old man took our lovely boxer out for a walk a few years ago, and she was attacked by another dog off the lead, my dad proceeded to kick the dog in the head, it soon let go, the lady who was walking the dog was quite shocked!

Later that day, a bloke knocked at our door, ranting and raving, swearing and being threatening towards my mum, my dad was out for a run and just happend to get home around the same time, the bloke was told by my 6ft 6 tall, covered in tattoos, who happend to be in the army at the time dad, that if he didnt apologies and fuck off, he would get the same treatment as his dog, he soon fuxked off

Obviously the owner had created to dog in his own image!

I'm not one of these people who say "there's no bad dogs", because there are some breeds which are really not suitable as pets - they are working breeds, or guarding breeds which have independence and high-energy levels bred into them, and when that instinct kicks in it makes them a "bad" dog in domestic circumstances - but most dogs of any breed are as bad as their owner allows/encourages.

Sadly, when an attack occurs it is the dog, who is doing what he has been encouraged to do, which suffers the consequences - while the owner gets a fine. (And usually another dog, which is also badly trained and mismanaged.)

Perhaps we should "put down" rubbish dog owners as well as the animals they've ruined.

Rtruth · 16/04/2021 17:25

Pass details to police, make it clear they contacted you. The dog unfortunately will likely not survive this due to poor ownership.

GingerGurl · 16/04/2021 17:27

Let the police deal with it.

Mum2b43 · 16/04/2021 17:30

My first thought was... they are scared their dog is going to be put down or taken off them. They might be calling to try and offer compensation or get you to admit it was somehow your fault. I wouldn’t call them. This dog is a danger to children so I think they will loose their dog. Don’t feel bad about it either as the dog will attack again.

winniestone37 · 16/04/2021 17:33

This is awful, how frightening for your child. I was scared for years of dogs because of something similar. I’m a dog owner now and appalled. The owner will be calling you because the dog will be put down and they don’t want it to happen. It’s incredibly sad but they should have been more reasonable 🤷‍♀️

SierraOscarSierra · 16/04/2021 17:39

One thing I would stress is if your DC becomes nauseous etc please take them straight away to hospital. I lost my friend recently: she had a tiny scratch from her dog, didn’t even draw blood but she got septicaemia and we lost her.

Bluntpencil · 16/04/2021 17:49

Maybe they want to do the grovelling apology that you say that you would do, how will you know if you don’t contact them.

alreadytaken · 16/04/2021 17:54

They want to send the husband round to intimidate you - if they wanted to apologise they would have said something to that effect. No mention of seeing how your son is either.

I would not speak to them, I would want the dog taken from them or destroyed if it had done anything before. The owners cant be trusted to prevent further attacks. .

lboogy · 16/04/2021 18:02

Id want that dog put down tbh. It's clearly not safe. I'm sorry that happened to your D.C. and glad to see they are okay

ClaudiasWinkleMan · 16/04/2021 18:07

I’ve got 2 dogs. Both my dogs and myself have been attacked by dogs. Both my dogs were on lead the attack dogs weren’t. The owners still walk their dogs without leads but moved to a different park. One of the dogs has attacked multiple dogs but she doesn’t give a toss. She argues and lies even when there are multiple witnesses. All she needs to do is keep her dog in lead. One of our dogs has completely changed personality and we now never let either off lead. I couldn’t bear to think my lazy selfish actions would result in another dog being hurt and another person being left with huge vet bills like we did. We’ve reported women to wardens (park & dog) and police. So when it happens again it is on record and hopefully this time something will actually be done.
I’m hearing about more and more dog attacks and with all the Covid puppies I think it’s going to get worse.
Hope your son is ok. My cousin was attacked by a dog as a child, it but her face and she still has scars. But she now is a dog owner herself, she was scared for a few years but did get over the fear and was back to loving dogs again. I hope the same happens to your son and this fear is short lived.

DaftVader42 · 16/04/2021 18:10

Going off piste slightly here. At local beach yesterday, and built the traditional race track in the sand for kids, finishing in a pool. Whilst kids in the pool, some twat let his dog wee on the sand castle that formed a roundabout on our clearly marked track. After that, every other dog that passed did the same , culminating in a massive arse letting his dog poo there. He did pick it up, but I’m not giving him credit for that as it’s the least he should do.

The whole beach to walk on , but twat dog owners have to let their dogs scent our sandcastle. No wonder they’re banned in summer months.

The first dog created a beacon for other dogs. It was gross and unnecessary.

Supermum29 · 16/04/2021 18:19

A park is the WORST place to take a dog, even more so an untrained one. We’ve got a pup and her prey drive is unreal, you run she’ll chase, a park would be heaven to her and hell for everyone else! Very irresponsible of the parents to let the kids take the dog out, I do wonder if perhaps they want to speak to you and find out what happened.... kids perhaps not being entirely honest as worrying about getting into more trouble? To be honest I’d phone the police and see whether they suggest contacting the owner directly and go from there.

GrannyRose15 · 16/04/2021 18:40

They might want to offer you their insurance details. Just like when you are involved in a car accident, insurance companies don't like you apologising so that might be the reason they didn't. I'd ring them to see what they say but be prepared to put the phone down if they start being nasty.

MagicSummer · 16/04/2021 19:08

So your child came to no harm really? I love dogs now but when I was a child I was bitten by my granny's very elderly dog twice, once he bit my head and it bled badly and the second time by my eye. But it was all my fault as I pulled his tail endlessly and he was old. There were no hysterics then! Tetanus jab and all will be OK.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 16/04/2021 19:18

One of our dogs has completely changed personality and we now never let either off lead.

Many a good dog is spoiled by attacks like these. The dog becomes frightened and then develops fear aggression and can't be trusted, and has to spend the rest of its life on a lead because someone else hasn't trained their dog.

At local beach yesterday, and built the traditional race track in the sand for kids, finishing in a pool. Whilst kids in the pool, some twat let his dog wee on the sand castle that formed a roundabout on our clearly marked track

That is both dirty and mean. Like the git who peed on my snowman when I was a little girl. Angry

roxanne119 · 16/04/2021 19:31

If this was my child don’t think I could hold my tongue that’s why it’s best to hand everything over to the police and let them proceed with it. This is why I hate kids walking huge dogs that they can’t manage ☹️

Middersweekly · 16/04/2021 19:35

Gosh this is awful! I can’t believe an adult would let 2 kids walk a dog on their own that size! Totally irresponsible of them! Especially if it’s young and a bit overly excitable. The children didn’t have any control over what that dog could have done! It doesn’t sound like the dog was trying to be vicious, more playful chasing a moving object (your DS). If a dog that size had meant to do serious damage it would have. It doesn’t excuse the fact the dog shouldn’t have been in a children’s play park. Equally if the dog can’t be trusted it should never have been let off the lead! I would get the dog warden/police to sort the situation. Don’t contact the family.

ExpatAl · 16/04/2021 19:38

No harm!?

Op how frightening and shocking for you all. I hope your ds heals well.
The actions of the dog, pinning down and biting, are a huge red flag. It will happen again and be much worse. Don’t contact them. If they were desperately sorry they would have made it clear. Leave to the police.

Keep your dogs out of play areas fgs!

Once walking our dog through woods two kids ran up and asked if we could put our dog on the lead because their little sister was scared of dogs. In distance I could see small child with parents bent over her. So of course I leash dog and take him off track into trees to have distance between us. As they walk past the girl trembles violently and I see a vivid raw nasty scar down her face that ran down the neck, ending goodness knows where. It was awful. We walked on quite subdued, keeping dog on the lead.